A Ninja and a Soldier
by Jiu-jitsu dude
Summary: Cloud and Yuffie find their own...unique ways to bond.
1. Feels Familiar

**Feels Familiar**

 **Part of 2018 FF7 Fanworks Exchange**

* * *

Tifa sighed as the sound of shattering glass reached her ears…again.

They'd come to Costa Del Sol for some relaxation, a quick break before they continued their slog after Sephiroth. They deserved that, right? There was only one problem…

"Which one of ya mudderfukkers wanna to drow 'ands!?"

Yuffie.

As it turned out, their resident ninja was a mean drunk. They'd discovered this fun fact by accident at camp one night, while passing around a kettle of Cid's 'tea,' which she was pretty sure could double as rocket fuel. There were more than a few hurt feelings, and black eyes, to go around that night.

Since then, they'd tried to moderate the girl's intake, but she had a talent for lifting more than just materia, and as often as not, they'd be left to deal with the mini-typhoon.

"Son of a bitch!" Barret growled as he ducked under a glass. "Just once I'd like to NOT get kicked out of a bar that we don't own."

"You're telling me." Cid grumbled, lighting up a cigarette as he watched the teenager hoop and holler. "Goddammit Yuf, calm the fuck down!"

"Make me old man!" She cried back.

Aerith sighed as she swirled the remnants of her cocktail. "She'll tucker herself out eventually, she always does." She winced as the sound of shattering glass filled the air. "Hopefully sooner rather than later."

Cid knocked back the last of his whiskey. "Yeah, fuck that." Her turned to the bar, where a familiar crop of blond hair was gathering a fresh set of beers. "Spike! Do your damn job! You're on damage control!"

The ex-SOLDIER gave the pilot a two-finger salute, before vaulting over a table on the way Yuffie.

He gave the girl a small smile. "How you feeling Yuf?"

"Like Imma bout ta kick your azz." She slurred.

He raised an eyebrow. "That good, huh?" He motioned her forward. "Come and get it then."

Her first swing was wide and wild, and he easily slipped under it as he moved behind her, gently bouncing on his feet.

"Aww come on Yuf, you got better than that." He teased.

"Hellz yeah I do!" She growled as she surged forward again, throwing haymaker after haymaker, as he bobbed and weaved through the strikes, grinning all the while.

"Stayy stilllll." She whined as she swung again.

He slipped inside, planting a fist in her stomach, doubling the girl over. "That looked painful." He observed helpfully.

She roared as she threw a wide hook that the blond caught, pulling her head down towards the floor with the other, leaning his weight into the smaller combatant to tire her out. She flailed, trying to knock his hand away, and he calmly switched from one arm to the other each time, jerking her down sharply with every change of hand.

He leaned forward into her ear. "Where you at Yufs!? Where you at!?"

"Ryyht here!" She snapped, slamming an elbow into his face, driving him back.

He wiped the blood from his freshly split lip, laughing as he took in the sight of the heavily panting girl. "There she is! That's my girl, come on!"

She howled as she charged forward. The others observed the now familiar ritual with interest, watching as the two taunted and threatened, Cloud slowly tired the girl out, till she lay panting on the floor.

"Strife…I swear…to Leviathan...Imma kill you." She huffed.

He shook his head and nudged her with his boot. "In the morning Yuf. Go to bed. Good fight."

"Ya bet your azz itz a gud fiyght." She slurred as she slowly made her way to her feet. "Bess damn fiyght ya ever had."

He chuckled. "Best damn fight I ever had." He agreed. "Night Yuf."

"Night azzholes." She shot back as the stumbled her way towards the stairs.

Cid shook his head as the man walked back over to join them. "Dammit Spike, how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

The pilot spat. "Wrangle that brat. It's uncanny."

The blond smiled as he accepted a cloth and ice from Aerith. "She young, just wants to prove herself. Give her a little bit of attention and some room to vent that energy, and she'll calm right down."

Tifa laughed. "And 'a little bit of attention' means a fist fight in a bar? Where'd you come up with that?"

Cloud grinned back as he pressed the ice to his lip. "I don't know, it just feels…familiar, you know?"

Cid snorted. "Buncha fuckin crackpots, that's what I signed up with."

Aerith held out a hand proudly. "Hi pot, I'm kettle!"

It wasn't the best joke, but that night? It killed.

* * *

 **Years Ago, In a Bar In Midgar**

The sound of shattering glass filled the air.

Kunsel groaned. "Dammit! Strife's drunk again! Zack, you're on damage control!"

The dark-haired SOLDIER grinned as he vaulted over a table.

"How you feeling little buddy?"


	2. Visiting Wutai

**Visiting Wutai**

* * *

Yuffie flopped from one side to the other on her bed, trying in vain to find sleep.

She sighed, she knew why she couldn't find any rest. Her guilt over having stolen from the party was weighing her down. The very same party that had taken her in as she wandered aimlessly through the main continent, searching for something to make her stronger, to make Wutai stronger. She'd found that for sure, the time she'd spent with them had sharpened her skills to a razor's edge, and for that she was incredibly grateful…but then she'd found out just how much materia they had.

She'd broke. She couldn't help herself, that much firepower could mean something to Wutai, it could make a difference. She'd made the right choice.

So, the question was…why'd she feel like such a grade-A asshole?

She groaned as she pushed herself up off the bed. She wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, so the she might as well do something useful. She pulled on her clothes and shoes, sliding the door open and starting down the familiar wooded path towards the traditional training grounds.

Maybe I can work myself to sleep. She thought glumly as she made her way through the woods.

She stilled as she reached the edge of the tree line before the clearing where the training grounds sat, the sounds of grunts and the shuffling feet reaching her ears. She slowly crept forward, moving from tree to tree as the sounds grew louder. She peeked into the clearing and saw him.

Cloud was standing in the middle of the clearing, swinging around his, in her opinion, ridiculously oversized sword. The guy was weird for sure, but with the sweat rolling off him, and his muscles working under the strain of the blade, she supposed she could understand the appeal.

She watched for a few more minutes as the blond waded his way through invisible opponents, dealing death and destruction as he traveled from one end of the training ground to the other in a careful dance of footwork and blade, before finally resting his sword in the ground and letting out a sigh.

"You know, this place is big enough for the both of us."

She shrunk a bit as she left her place behind the tree and entered the clearing.

"How'd you know?" She grumbled.

"Enhanced hearing." He said, pointing to his ear. "Sometimes it comes in handy, sometimes I get to hear random conversations a few houses over."

She snorted. "And here I thought my awesome ninja skills would be enough to get the drop on you."

He hummed. "Your skills at lying to us did a better job at that."

She flinched like she'd been struck. There it was, wasn't it? She'd done what she'd needed to for her country, but they had paid the price. Well, till they tracked her down at least…maybe she WAS a bad ninja.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry."

"What the hell does that even mean Yuf?"

She looked away, rubbing one arm with her other. "You wouldn't understand."

He stared her down. "Well, I definitely don't understand right now."

That was true she supposed. When did he get so good at this third-degree act?

"You've never lost a war. You don't know what it's like to be broken, to see your people have to bow down to another power. Wutai used to mean something. Now? We're a tourist trap that's barely staying afloat. We'll be even less in a few years."

"We'll have to agree to disagree on the not understanding what it's like to be broken." She winced as he said it, remembering the tales of a burning Nibelheim, and the horrific parody they'd found in its place. "But, I understand what you mean about me not knowing what it's like to lose a war. Whatever Shinra's faults, they're a good little war machine."

She huffed. "Don't I know it? They made you."

Her eyes widened. Open mouth, insert foot.

He chuckled darkly. "I suppose they did."

Well, in for a penny…

"Were you here?" He looked at her quizzically, and she swallowed. "Were you here during the invasion?"

He leaned on his sword and stared off into woods. "No."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"I was part of the war though."

She stilled again. She wasn't sure why it mattered to her, but it did. "Where?"

He kept staring off into the distance, lost in thought. "Junon. I…I was stationed there when the Crescent attacked. Standard hit and run stuff. My unit had been tasking with escorting convoys in and out of the harbor, make sure that all the supplies made it to the front, you know?"

She did know. She remembered ship after ship making landfall on the beaches of Wutai, and them being powerless to stop it after the first few weeks.

"They are…were our elite warriors." She whispered.

He nodded. "They were good, that's for sure. Got us good at least."

She wasn't sure what to say to that, so she did something very unnatural for her, she remained silent.

"Mike and me? We were at the back of the column, making sure that we didn't get ambushed." He shook his head. "A lot of good it did us. One minute I'm talking to Mike, he had a girl back in the city, wanted to tell me all about it." A brief smile crossed his lips, before dying there. "The next, Mike's got six inches of Wutai steel sticking out of his throat, choking on his own blood." He grimaced at the memory. "The sounds he made Yuf, they'd break your heart."

She winced. The Crescent were considered elite for a reason. They were excellent at what they did.

"I run over to Mike, and I'm trying to figure out what the hell to do, how to take back time. Shit, that sounds familiar, huh?"

"Spike…"

"And then I see him, the guy that got Mike. He's standing around ten meters away, fumbling with his weapons belt. Something was messing up, or I don't think we'd be having this talk. I shoulder my rifle, let out a breath, and pulled that trigger, just like they taught us. He dropped like a damn rock."

He fixed her with a stare. "And you know what I thought?"

She didn't really want to know. "What?"

"Fuck him. Mike was a good kid." He winced. "And so goddamn young. Yuf, he was your age."

"I-"

He pressed on. "So, I run back over to Mike, and check on him." He shook his head sadly. "He's gone, bled out quick." He let out a slow breath. "The assault wraps up, and I decide I gotta know. I gotta know what this bastard looks like. I make my way over to him Yuf, and he's got the full Crescent garb on, face mask and everything. Very intimidating by the way."

She shuffled nervously, not sure where he's taking this anymore, and a little nervous to find out.

"I get over to him, and I'm pissed, I peel off this mask so fast that I break the straps. And do you know what I see Yuf?"

"No." She answers softly.

"A kid. I don't know who was older, me or him, but I bet you could count the difference in months." He spat on the ground. "I was so goddamn confused. I knew I was angry, but this kid…I'd be surprised if he needed to shave regularly." He laughed at himself. "I thought I'd feel proud, you know? My first enemy taken down. Something that I could tell my friends about. But, I really didn't feel much like bragging, didn't feel much of anything, besides missing Mike."

"Cloud, I'm sorry." It's all she can think to say.

He looks to her again. "Why? You didn't do anything. We attacked you, you responded, war is like that I guess."

"Yeah, but...I don't know."

"Yuf, do you know the moral of that story?"

She couldn't think of any, so she slowly shook her head.

He sighed. "Yeah, me neither." He looked back to the soft lights of the village. "I never even saw this place. I killed for this place, Mike died for this place, but we never even laid eyes on it."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the soft sounds of the cicadas in the night.

His next words were almost too soft to hear. "It's beautiful."

"…Yeah."

"But, if I could choose, I think I'd rather have Mike back."

"…Yeah."

He drew his sword from the earth, flicking the dirt from it with a flourish. "Well, I'll leave you to it. You're free to join us when we head out tomorrow. Or you can stay here, I won't judge either way, but I've got a score to settle."

He began walking towards the forest path, away from her, away from her making this right…whatever that meant.

"Cloud!" She yelled after him, louder than she intended, but stopping him in his tracks.

"Yeah, Yuf?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Are…are we still friends?"

He gave her a small smile. "I dunno, are we?"

He was making fun of her! She huffed. "Just answer the damn question Spike!"

He laughed. "Yuffie, if you all can deal with me losing my damn mind, in a very literal sense, and still be crazy enough to want to follow my ass, then I don't know what to call you guys but friends. Friends that need their heads checked."

"That's rich coming from you!" She accused.

He smirked. "Who's crazier, the crazy man, or those that follow him?"

She tsked. "We're just letting you think you're in charge. Me and Vinny are running things behind the scenes."

"Good, it's nice to know somebody knows what the plan is."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Don't worry, we'll keep you on task." She declared proudly.

He waved back at her as he walked off. "Sounds good to me Yuf. See you tomorrow."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't an offer. It was a statement of fact.

"You bet your spiky ass you will!"


End file.
